When last we left our old pal Charlie, things could have been better. He’d just opened his front door and some mysterious evil doer went and shot him. Now, we all knew that Charlie was going to live, because really, he is the show. The real question from the cliffhanger was, “Who pulled the trigger?” It prompted some discussion on just who it could have been, and most of the waggling fingers were pointed in the direction of Agent Bodner. Were all of those people right? That answer, and why I loved the way it came to light are up next. So, spoiler alert, or whatever.
Alrighty then. Cat out of the bag, it was Bodner, under orders from Roman. The twist to that came in the form of some new details about that relationship. I had settled in on thinking that Bodner was dirty. The revelation that Roman threatened his family casts things in a whole new light. It doesn’t forgive the shooting of Charlie, but it opens Bodner up as a new partner. That’s all great for the story, but what I really wanted to get at was the way they wrapped up the cliffhanger.
From the moment Reese asked about who was at the door, it was clear that Charlie knew. And it made perfect sense that he wasn’t telling anyone. As we cut to him meticulously loading the very bullet that shot him into a new cartridge, it really set the mood. The actual payoff, when he walks into Bodner’s house and says, “Got something that belongs to you,” before shooting him? It was awesome.
In that one scene we got the answer for who shot Charlie, texted Ted out of the clink, and set the stage for the next part of the story. You can be sure that Bodner will be calling Charlie after his leg heals, and they’ll be taking down Roman. And after that, he’ll make for a pretty powerful ally as we get back to the bigger story. Good stuff.
If all of that wasn’t enough, the team down at Life HQ tossed in a little bonus. As a thank you to fans for sticking with the series, they hid the axle grease that has been serving as hair product for Captain Tidwell. Doesn’t he look so much better all shampooed?
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Feb 06, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
Ally?
Hm. I don’t think so. I bet you half a tootsie roll ;-)
I’m so glad Life is back. Makes me miss Journeyman.
*POST AUTHOR*
You don’t think so? Just guessing, but I see Charlie getting Bodner out of his jam with Roman, and then taking advantage of Bodner’s connections as we move forward with the big story. Assuming we have enough episodes left to get to all that.
I think Crews is more of a lone ranger to depend on him – I think he will do something on his own and help Bodner out that way, to get Roman off his back. Maybe Bodner will give him a tip so you could be right and then Crews will act on that without him so in the end we very well both might be right :-)
This way or another – Life is currently the show I am looking forward to the most, directly followed by House, The Mentalist and Lost. But just because I already saw season 3 of FNL otherwise that one would in the mix as well.
LOL on the Tidwell comment — it was the first thing I noticed in Tidwell’s first scene :)
I’m so glad Life is back — I missed it. Charlie Crews and Dani Reese are my favorite cops on TV :)
Charlie is a BADASS! Wow, that was such a great episode. The ongoing plot and the murder of the week were equally engaging stories.
I actually like Tidwell better as a person now because of his hair. Does that make me shallow?
And did I mention what a badass Charlie is? Because he is totally a badass. He freaking melted down the bullet he was shot with and then shot the guy who shot him with it! Ha! Loved it.
Yeah, so premeditated… loved it! And no, you are not shallow; either that, or I am too, b/c I was celebrating the lack of hair goop!
I think there’s a connection (subconscious or otherwise)between the sliminess of the hair and the sliminess of the character.
There should be a scientific study.
I dunno, I just always thought of it as New Yorker hair. ‘Course I like the guy.
On a side note, I thought it was a shame we didn’t get to hear Charlie comment on the bullet. It was a bullet, then he melted it down and it wasn’t a bullet. Then he cast it into a different shaped bullet, so it wasn’t the same bullet, but it was the same bullet. Wasn’t it?
I guess we couldn’t hear that sort of thing without Ted in the room, or we’d think Charlie’s crazy. :)
Do you mean like a Zen commentary on the nature of the bullet? Because I think this was just cold, hard revenge.
Which is why it is so badass. Charlie can listen to all cassette tapes he wants, but under it all, he’s just a dude out to get even with the guys who screwed him over.
Certainly it was revenge, but Charlie sure didn’t treat Bodner like it was personal. It was more like returning a letter than a bullet. Compare that to his cold rage and merciless executions of “Fill it Up.”
I just thought it was the perfect opportunity for a Charlie-ism.
As much as I enjoy LIFE in general, and this episode in particular…
There is no way in HELL that LAPD would not keep that bullet as evidence. The doctor would not have had it period. Crews’ shooting would be investigated as an attempted 187 (murder), and the bullet would be held in evidence, quite probably forever.
I realize the metaphor of the bullet being used as it was…but for me it made the episode more of a fantasy episode than a procedural. But then perhaps LIFE (or even life itself) is a fantasy…